Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Households in Pepperell have higher incomes than those in 90% of U.S. towns
Only 7% work in Pepperell itself; outside it, Boston draws the most (9%, 38 miles). 8.0% of residents are in poverty, against 10.0% across Massachusetts. The two grades for Pepperell are A− for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Pepperell stands out on work
Pepperell’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Pepperell is Boston, 38 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (535) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Pepperell is a place people come home to
There are 1,443 jobs based in Pepperell, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Pepperell has about 7,100 people in it, 40% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Pepperell workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 29 across Massachusetts. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Pepperell’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pepperell is better than 78% of U.S. towns, #162 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income is its strongest input ($124,073, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.7%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pepperell could be anywhere from B to A.
Short hops and long hauls from Pepperell
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
A workday in Pepperell: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 5,691 residents head out to work, 451 work right here, and 992 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,100 people are in Pepperell on a workday afternoon, 40% fewer than live here.
0.23 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
A commute of about 34 minutes in Pepperell
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pepperell workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,032 commuters (the 18% who work from home are left out). Across Massachusetts: 75% drive alone, 8% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Commuting out of Pepperell: the destinations
Where Pepperell clocks in
9% of workers
5% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
What the 1,443 jobs in Pepperell are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pepperell, 2013 → 2023: 1,345 → 1,443. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Pepperell’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Few in Pepperell walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pepperell is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns, #258 of 283 in Massachusetts. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 14.1% across Massachusetts, on an EPA index of 5.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,145 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.3% of Pepperell households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Pepperell’s commuters take a bus or train.
892nd of 2,695: where Pepperell ranks among U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Weston MA | 11,729 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Norwell MA | 11,546 | $189K | 2.7% | 1.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 82 | Georgetown MA | 8,577 | $152K | 3.8% | 1.7% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 890 | Conway FL | 12,928 | $87K | 8.9% | 3.3% | 2% | A− |
| 891 | Moss Bluff LA | 12,482 | $92K | 8.9% | 1.1% | 5% | A− |
| 892 | Pepperell MA | 11,762 | $124K | 8.0% | 3.7% | 7% | A− |
| 893 | Elizabeth Township PA | 12,399 | $81K | 5.7% | 3.1% | 10% | A− |
| 894 | Southampton Township PA | 8,604 | $80K | 4.5% | 1.6% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Pepperell, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
The towns around Pepperell
The biggest share goes to Groton (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Pepperell’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Pepperell: questions
What is the median household income in Pepperell?
$124,073 (±$11,540) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pepperell?
8.0%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pepperell?
34 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pepperell work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (9%, 38 mi), Nashua (5%, 8 mi), Lowell (4%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pepperell walkable?
Pepperell is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pepperell without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pepperell, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pepperell
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.